Small Talk – Meaningful Conversation?

Small Talk – Meaningful Conversation? Imagine of a situation where two or more people are gathered – a conference/expo, crowded restaurant or an office party. What do these situations have in common? Almost all of them involve people trying to know one another. But in moments where a conversation would enhance an encounter, we often fall short. We can’t think of a thing to say. This can be portrayed when you once skipped the office holiday party so you wouldn’t have to make awkward small talk conversation all night with your co-workers or situations where one would utilize the stairs to evade conversations with colleagues in the elevator. In the world today, face-to-face interaction is the gateway to building new relationships with colleagues or business contacts. Small talk is how we get acquainted with the fundamental facts about one another. It allow us to connect and interact with people from different convivial or corporate backgrounds. The challenge quite a number of people face with small talk is that they can’t get past it. Like one of those conversations where you’ve met someone incipient (or ran into someone you barely know) and the two of you are both endeavoring to make conversation, but both just keep circling around and not finding anything to connect. This hinders getting positive impressions of each other. One way to get beyond small talk is to ask open-ended questions. Asking questions is a great way to turn small talk into a conversation naturally. Aim for questions that invite people to tell stories, rather than give bland, one-word answers. Instead of asking, “How are you?” endeavor something more open-ended, like, “What did you do today?” This invites the other person to tell a story. We’re all hard-wired to share information about ourselves, but in order to get to a point where you’re having a real conversation, it’s important to show interest in another person first. You may not be keen to know a person beyond the context in which you’ve met them, but don’t let any fear of getting acquainted with them put you off. One should let the other have a chance to talk about themselves. Put yourself in the mindset of being curious to learn more about the other person. Being curious about others is a highly alluring quality, and it creates immediate interest. Like any well-seasoned military contingent, when navigating the field of social graces, you must go in prepared so as not to be struck down by the awkward lull of a conversation. When socializing with people we don’t know very well, we sometimes tend to avoid bringing up anything beyond surface-level topics because we don’t yet know how the other person thinks and we worry about how they’ll perceive us. But it’s time to toss that aside and let yourself have an authentic conversation. Get caught up on the trending news, dig into some pop culture, something you’re working on or maybe bring up a cool activities you have taken part in. Such topics paves the way for finding common ground between you and your acquaintance. People accomplish a lot after converting small talk into a paramount conversation. If you can strike up a casual conversation with people, you put them at ease and hair gets “let down”. You can ascertain a lot, learn a lot and develop relationships simply by creating a consequential conversation. This is one of the many facets of competent communication. The more one practices to make every day conversation to break the ice, the better they get at it. Would it be a good idea for you to take up a communication programme to empower yourself? Please think about it…